not so much air that your last bubbles are rock-hard (prone to popping)?

Marvin taught this rule of thumb at IBAC: leave 1/2 inch of uninflated nipple for each
twist you plan on making. Of course, you need to leave extra uninflated nipple if you
incorporate features like a poodle-tail. In practice, you will adjust bubble sizes and
stiffnesses as you go so that it ends up right; otherwise you'll have to pop the nipple
end, let some air out and re-tie in order to finish your figure. Years of experience also
helps.

This idea is the fishing reel found in "Dewey's Zany Balloons." Dewey takes a
bee body, inflates it half full, and does a basic apple. He then twists the apple in half
horizontally. This gives the reel for the rod, and the 'apple stem' sticks out to be the
crank for the reel. I sure that the rod needs no explanation. I've used this often for
fishermen with great response.

It looks like two toruses (donuts) side by side, connected only at the centers. Like a
yo-yo. If you pinch the donuts together on one side, it spreads open on the other side
like a spring clothespin. You can then clip it on to a nose, ear, or whatever; it holds on
by friction. For the earrings, add a few dangling 260's with 1-inch bubbles in the end
(like poodle tails).

I have done this with both 260's and 350's, but I like the effect better with the 350.
It turned out to be rather simple:

Method

Make a 3-inch bubble. The actual length is best determined by experimentation, and
depends on what the final use will be. Tie a knot. At this point, I prefer to trim off the
nozzle close to the knot so the knot is smaller.

Make an apple. This is done by making an apple twist (see above) all the way down and
about 1/4" - 1/2" into the uninflated part. Grab the knot through the uninflated
part, extract your finger (or other apple-twist tool) and twist a few times.

Trim off the uninflated balloon after the twists you just made, but keep hold of the
twist itself -- it won't stay twisted by itself (yet). Push the twist you are holding back
into the balloon, as if you were making an apple twist in the opposite direction as you
just did. Once the twist is fully inside, it will stay twisted by itself. Push it back in
far enough so the knot is more than halfway back toward the side where it started.

You should now have an oblong bubble with a thread of uninflated
balloon running through it from end to end. Give this bubble a simple twist in the center,
making two back-to-back apple twists. The friction should hold the twists in place. You're
done!

Pinch one side of this, and the other side opens up like a spring clothes-pin. Clip this
on to whatever body part(s) you desire.

More instructions:

Instructions were also printed in Balloon Magic the Magazine but here it is in simple
form. Inflate a balloon to form a 1 or 1 1/2 inch bubble and tie it. Tie another knot
about an inch beyond the end of the bubble. This forms a soft bubble. Now, do a simple
apple twist or tulip twist - whichever you call it. Tuck the knots all the way inside the
bubble. Next, twist the apple twist in half to form the 'yo yo'. Squeeze the bottom and
the top opens. It will grip on most anything that is thin. It works best as an ear ring -
if you wear a hoop or dangly earring and attach the balloon to that.

After inflating the small 1.5 inch bubble and tying at both ends to create a soft
bubble, reach all the way through to create the tulip twist. Cut off the remaining portion
of tail and pull both knots to the center. Twist the balloon in half to create the
'gripper.' As you said, if you squeeze one side, the other opens and will attach itself on
almost anything. Earrings, nose bobs, hair decorations etc.

Uses

Clown Nose

Animal Nose

Earring (add baubles and dangly bits)

Hair Bow (thanks to my wife for this one!)

Game: get the 'nose' off only be scrunching your face muscles

Vehicle Wheels (makes a terrific Indy Race Car)

Toys (see below)

Inflate a 6-inch heart and wrap the nozzle between the two yo-yo bubbles. You know have
a heart that will stick on a shoulder, on a Teddy Bear's ear, on a finger, a glass or a
napkin holder (actually almost anything that is sized for the yo-yo.)

If you put the feet of a balloon animal on one side of the yo-yo, you can use the other
side to grip a glass or clothing or whatever. Now the twister creation can be conveniently
placed almost anywhere. The balloon friction works to delightful advantage. Unlike glue,
however, you can remove it whenever you wish. I've used this technique as a business card
holder and as a card holder for magic. Works great!

once you've made one of these from a 350, you'll see that you have *two* suction cups
right next to each other! Imagine the possibilities for attaching things! Take a yo-yo and
suction cup it to a table. Now look at it. Looks like a light piece of fluff sitting on a
table. Ask some poor sucker to pick it up. Or have them flick it off the table (maybe
cover their desk with them, like mushrooms). Because of the suction, they act a lot
heavier than they look. Rather startling, really.

Tips and variations

Sometimes I leave the uninflated part on and "countersink" it into the
opposite end of the tulip twisted knots (i.e. push the knots all the way through the tulip
twist and grip the end of the tail. Pull the tail end and the knots to the center of the
bubble and twist in half. -- like making a basket except the basket is twisted in half)
Now you have an earring with a loop. Lots of possibilities to hanging, hooking and
creating including "bull with a nose ring", ear chains, baskets with flowers and
on and on and on.

When you cut off the uninflated part, save it! I can get three "noses" from
one balloon by re-inflating. It's also good for popped balloons that still have a few good
inches in them.

You can make easy, fast, long apple twists by using a smooth dowel instead of your
finger. I started using a chopstick I have that is very smooth from many years of use,
though this could be done with fine grit sandpaper.

Put two "noses" together by springing them open and pushing the openings into
each other, crosswise. Carefully push/roll the bubbles past each other. The bubbles will
form a very interesting tetrahedron of apple twists.

If you make the original bubble long enough, you can make more than two bubbles in the
last step. Note that they don't seem to hold together as well, but they could be useful as
parts in other sculptures.

I put 2 superballs (T. Myers 3/4") into a 350 before inflating. (Tom's "Balls
'n Balloons" book gives good techniques for this.) When I did the final twist, I made
sure there was one in each 'chamber'. This thing rattled and spun and bounced and did all
sorts of crazy things! Putting two of these together into a tetrahedron was even crazier!

Mark writes: I independently discovered this twisted apple-twist (yo-yo) this spring,
after George Sands' book got me critically thinking about apple and hook twists. They're
slick, aren't they? I had never seen them anywhere before twisting my first one, and
remember proclaiming to several friends (and a professor) "I have just revolutionized
balloon twisting!" :-) The biggest let-down of my twisting career came when I proudly
showed Marvin Hardy one of them at IBAC. He said something like "Oh, that old
thing" as he promptly made one and clipped it on my ear. :-(

Suction Cups

A tulip/apple twist forms a suction cup. As much as I would like to claim the balloon
suction cup effect, I seem to recall reading about it years ago in one of the older
balloon books (Chuck Leech?) where it was described as an effect, without (at that time)
any apparent use.

Put a tulip twist in both ends of a 350, bend the balloon around into
a horizontal "U" shape and suction cup both ends to a window to create a
"basket-ball hoop."

I've used it for a table mount variation on the ray gun. ("keep 'em covered while
I make the next balloon...").

The interesting thing about using 350's for the suction cup effect, is that you get a
stronger suction than with the 260's (due to wider cross section?) and the 350's are
structurally stronger.

Suction hint: If you are having trouble making the tulip twist stick, try this: After
you make the tulip, work the twist (what would be the stem knot in an apple), back toward
the end where you first stuck your finger in. As though you were trying to turn an
"innie" into an "outie". When you get that end "flat",
moisten it, press it against the glass and, while holding the tulip with one hand, gently
pull on the body of the balloon with the other hand (pulling the twist partway back
through the tulip.) Ta Da, Maximum suction cup effect.

I've been suction-cupping balloons to things all over the place. A few days ago I made
a person that definitely needed a hat. The head was made out of a couple heart balloons. I
suction cupped an apple balloon to the top of the head to form the hat.

This is the "hook twist" that Dewey describes. He uses it for
a lot of neat animals: dogs, snakes, squirrels, frogs, etc. This twist is basically a
variation on the apple twist. Instead of pushing the nozzle into the balloon only about an
inch, push it in as far as you can reach with one finger. If you bend the balloon a bit
you can reach further along the wall of the balloon. Now grab the nozzle through the wall
of the balloon and twist the way you would make an apple twist. Then carefully work your
finger out of the balloon. I use the thumb and middle finger of the same hand that has the
index finger inside the balloon. These two fingers kind of push the sides of the bubble
back a bit while I retract my index finger. If you can do an apple twist you already know
how to take your finger out. It's just a bit harder now since there's more finger inside
the balloon. Practice making apple twists of increasing size. I suppose a bit of powder on
your finger couldn't hurt to reduce friction, but I've never tried it. When you take your
finger out of the balloon, the bit of balloon inside the bubble that goes from the nozzle
to the end of the bubble will go straight from the twist to the end of the bubble. If the
bubble is bent (or hooked) as described above, that inner piece of balloon will hold it in
that position.

The key to getting that shape is really to get the nozzle further into the balloon than
your finger could reach if the balloon was kept straight. I scrunch up the bubble to
really reach in there far. Note that no matter how far you reach in, the same length of
balloon will be inside since you're only putting inside the balloon what covers your
finger, so the further you can get the nozzle in, the greater the hook in the bubble.

Inflate and tie a 260 leaving a few inches uninflated.

Put your index finger on the knot and press the knot into the balloon as for an apple
twist. Rather than keeping your finger centered in the balloon, it should go in toward one
side so that the palm side of the finger is along one edge and the inflated part of the
balloon is on the back (dorsal) side of the finger.

Insert the finger into the balloon as far as you can. Then use your other hand to push
another 3 or 4 inches of the inflated balloon onto the finger so that the inflated balloon
bunches up on the dorsal side.

With the other (right) hand, pinch through the inflated part of the balloon to grasp the
knot between your thumb and index finger. Twist the balloon to lock the knot in the twist
as you would do for an apple twist.

You now have a long apple twist that's curved and bunched up on the convex side of your
curved index finger. I use my right forearm and elbow to hold the remainder of the
inflated balloon against my side to prevent the apple twist from coming loose during the
next maneuver.

When all but an inch of your index finger has been freed from the twist, tip your finger
up so that the back side of the finger is along the outside (convex side) of the twist.
This will allow the other end of the twist to hook as you remove the tip of your finger.

The twist should have a reasonable approximation of a tight "S" shape. You can
move the main body of the twist toward or away from either end to accentuate or reduce the
curvature at that end.

Besides wearing gloves, you can cover your finger with a thin cloth - I used to use a
juggling scarf - and it makes pulling out your finger very easy. I only use it on deep
hook twists.

Using baby powder or gloves works, but I find it hard to work in full gloves, because
the cloth gets caught in the twists. I tried baby powder for a while, but it is messy.

I saw Pat-in-the-Hat utilize a round, very smooth chopstick to make deep hook twists.
I'm sure that anything thin, round, smooth and fairly sturdy can be used as a stuffing
tool. If you go the chop-stick/thin wooden dowel route, don't use the cheap ones you get
for free at restaurants. (too many splinters, pointy parts are bad for the balloon!) You
can also use a balloon straw.

Be sure your finger is very dry and possibly use a fine baby powder, that is what they
use inside the balloons anyway.

Any slight moisture will tend to make your finger stick, either very wet or very dry
will do the trick. Try Cornstarch. It works. I tried it, and I don't think it will cake on
your hands as much as baby powder has a tendency to do.

A trick for making apple twists is to lick your finger before pushing the balloon in.
This makes it MUCH easier to get your finger out.

A trick for making bubbles inside a balloon and also for making apple twists is to:
*lick your finger* before pushing the bubble in. This makes it MUCH easier to get your
finger out without pulling the bubble out, losing a lot of air, or whatever. Of course,
you can have as much fun hamming it up with this as you like.

I was able to stop popping the balloons by wetting my finger before I did the twist.
Then it pulled out without popping the balloon. Not too tasty, but it works. I find this
most often happens to me when my finger nails are too long, or aren't trimmed cleanly.

It's really hard to pull off a hook twist without popping a balloon after applying a
relatively fresh coat of nail polish - some sort of weird friction thing goes on.

Now there is a bubble and your finger inside the large bubble. There is a second layer
of latex around the small bubble. the outer layer is still connected to the big bubble.
With your free hand, pinch the big bubble where the little one is inside of it and hold
that bubble in place. With the finger nail inside the balloon, break that outer layer.
(The outer layer to be broken is marked by x's in the above picture). Breaking it just
takes a bit of practice. If you stretch the balloon that you want to break, by working the
bubble further inside the long bubble with your other hand you should weaken it enough to
help break it.

While still pinching the large bubble, work the little one free. Your finger will still
be inside of the balloon.

Since you're pinching the balloon, air shouldn't escape while you get your finger out.
Now just tie the balloon from the end where your finger came out of.

peas-in-a-pod: make five or six meatballs, and then deflate the balloon around
them, leaving something that looks like a pea-pod. The pea-pod can also be called a
caterpillar. Then if you make wings out of another balloon you've got a butterfly. [Note:
A chain of small bubbles, each pushed into the balloon body separately can be used to
create the same effect... after the outer balloon shell is deflated.

A hint for tearing off a meatball inside a balloon, which I discovered by watching
Richard Levine here in Eugene:

Make the bubble

Poke it deep into the balloon with one finger

Pull that finger out fast - the balloon will often pop due to friction, and the
'meatball' is free!

If (3) fails, tear the end off with a *fast* motion, which is easier than slow.

Failing (4)... use scissors. Latex makes crummy dental floss!

When you twist off the bubble that is going to be inserted, make it fairly small and
twist it 4 or 5 complete turns. The first hard part is pushing the bubble into the main
body of the balloon. Make sure the bubble is smaller than the main body of the balloon. I
hold the main body of the balloon in my right hand right up close to the twist. I then
(slowly) push the bubble into the main body with the index finger of my left hand. When
you get it in, push it as far into the main body as you can. With the thumb and index
finger of your right hand pinch the main body down onto the twist of the bubble. Hold this
tight in your right hand and start to pull your left index finger out of the main body.
The idea is to break off the bubble at the twist with the fiction between the main body
and your left index finger. Sometimes if you move your left index finger down a little at
the first joint you can increase the friction and insure that the twist breaks. When the
twist does break, clamp down with your right thumb and index finger to seal the hole. Then
retie and the bubble is inside the main body.

I push the bubble in almost all the length of my index finger, then I grasp the little
bubble with the other hand from the outside and withdraw my pushing finger just enough so
that I can pinch the bubble right where it meets the rest of the balloon. This pinch
should be firm enough and should effectively cut-off any chance of air escaping once you
pop off the bubble. Now, give a twist your finger that is still on the interior of the
balloon; make sure you give your finger a hook shape and sort-of scoop twist. Usually the
bubble will just pop free and you'll be left holding an unknotted balloon. And you'll
probably have about enough space left where you're holding to simply knot it up, if you
like. Try practicing with a superball, it is a lot easier to insert and break off.

I could not manage to get a bubble inside a balloon -- until this last weekend! Yea!
Two hints helped me get it to work:

From the October Balloon Magic Magazine ('Magic' section): Push the bubble back into the
balloon by holding it with your thumb and first two fingertips until it is back into the
balloon, then use one finger to push it the rest of the way in. I had a lot of trouble
pushing the bubble straight back with just my forefinger; it kept slipping out before I
could get it secured into the balloon.

Make the bubble smaller than the diameter of the balloon itself. I was definitely making
the bubble too big before.

I found T. Myers instructions on the balloon seed (bubble insertion) to be the easiest
to do consistently. After inserting the bubble, twist another bubble on the end (it will
look like a tulip twist) and pull it off. It separates easier. Later you can use other
techniques to put one color inside another etc.

When I'm breaking off a meatball, I twist the balloon tightly around my finger inside
the balloon to ensure that I pull it all back. It makes it a little more difficult to
break off the ball, but I find it ensures a successful insertion. I leave a little tucked
inside, and the flash gets incorporated into the knot.

Putting an object inside a balloon

If you want to put a ball or other object inside, it's the same thing, except that you
don't start with a small bubble. You would just insert the ball the way the small bubble
was inserted.

There are basically two ways to put something inside a balloon:

Stretch the mouth/ nozzle open and shove the item inside.

With an inflated balloon, push the item into the end, with the forced-in section of
balloon forming a skin around the item. Keep pushing until the item is completely inside
the outer balloon. Break off the connection to the inner section of balloon, trying not to
loose too much air. The item is now inside the inflated balloon, and is coated with the
broken off section of balloon.

Superballs are high-bounce balls. They are available at most toy stores and come in
various sizes and colors. The smaller ones go nicely into balloons.

A super-popular item is ball-in-balloon toys. I also got superballs through Tom Myers,
and in the end each one costs the same as a single balloon. So, cost isn't really a factor
-- it's just like doing multi-balloon figures. However, these things are more like kinetic
toys than figures. Some things I've been making with superballs in them: fill a balloon
all the way, put a ball in, and tie the balloon into a big, loose knot. Overhand and
figure eights work great. You can twist 1" bubbles in each end then connect those
together if you want. A simple but stunning balloon/ball "maze"! Another toy:
fill two balloons of different colors; put a ball in each. Make a long double-helix (see
below), and you have a spiral ball racetrack.

The superballs sold by Tom Myers fluoresce under a black light! I discovered this when
I used two of them as eyeballs in "googly eyes" (inside of a clear 260Q bubble)
while twisting near the bandstand in a bar. Since the bandstand is lit up with
"black" lights, the superballs looked like they were ready to jump right out and
grab you - like a cat's eyes in your headlights! Very cool!

The ball putter was invented because putting a ball into a 260 is something that takes
a knack. The balls n' balloons toys can require you to put a ball in every 2nd or 3rd
balloon. After a day of this my finger hurts. The ball putter makes it fast and easy, but
you are carrying around another tool. If you can get the ball into a 260 quick and easy
and it doesn't hurt your finger, you don't need a ball putter. T. Myer's "Ball
Putter" is one of the greatest things I've ever seen. I was not really sure about it
when I ordered it. Now, I wouldn't give it up!

My favorite thing I picked up from T. Myers was using two small super balls in a clear
heart or clear 260Q to make googley eyes. When you stuff anything inside a balloon with
the meatball method, you end up with a layer that surrounds what you put inside. After
working at putting things inside balloons, I can now even controllably unwrap the layer of
balloon from the object (ball, etc.) I stuff in the balloon before I withdraw my finger.
Google eyes with inserted superballs (or balloon balls) look best if you unwrap the clear
cocoon from them after insertion. When I put something inside that I want to unwrap, I try
not to break the cocooned object off completely. Instead I try to leave a little latex
attaching the cocooned object to the rest of the balloon. My finger stays inside the
balloon to plug the hole so the air doesn't escape. Then I use that remaining bit of latex
as a handle for my inserted finger, in conjunction with my outside hand, to peel the
cocoon from the object. It can still be done even if the object is completely broken free,
though it is not quite as fast. In either case, don't leave the cocoon floating around
inside the balloon with the object. It is distracting. Just remove it when you pull your
finger out.

With regards to the little bit of loose rubber left in the balloon after you've
inserted an object, and then stripped the rubber off the object: I usually make sure I
trap that little bit in the first small bubble I make. It's a lot less obvious than
leaving it in a long bubble, where you can watch it rattle around as you tilt the balloon.
I've seen a twister manage to insert an object, manipulate the rubber off the object,(his
finger still in the balloon) and then drag the little rubber bit out... all in one shot.

I've been using the T. Myer's Ball Putter to put superballs in balloons, and I love it.
I say my sharp wit pops the bubbles. It's so fast I can usually do it before the recipient
(child or adult) sees what I'm doing, and they go gonzo (that's a technical term) when
they see the ball bouncing around inside the figure. T Myers ball putter is great for
super balls but won't work with bubbles.

At IBAC, Marvin recommended that for stuffing you first go to your local Farm Supply
store and buy a 'Banding Pliers' - a pliers used for stretching rubber bands when
castrating animals. With a simple squeeze you can stretch and hold open a balloon nozzle
while you fill it with confetti or whatever.

Marvin invented the Jiffy Tube system specifically for inserting items into the 260's.
It works great. There are 3 tubes which will allow you to insert things into 260's,
5", and 9" balloons. We use the "banding pliers" to easily fit the
neck of the 260 over the end of the tube.

To put a business card into a balloon you need to start with a jewel tone color
(yellow, orange, etc.) You will need to inflate the balloon leaving enough to do the
insert, pop and the twists for a small animal. Roll the card around a pencil or pen and
insert, pop and tie off. Then strip the rubber off of the card. I don't bother to get this
piece out as it shortens the balloon but you can if you want to be mysterious about how
the card got in there. Twist the nose, ears and neck and gently unroll the card (it will
have to stay somewhat curled) then finish the animal. Practice, practice.

Use a hi bounce ball to hold an inflated heart through a geo. I was making swans,
hearts and geo sculptures and wanted a way to make the heart stand in the geo. Stretch the
knot through the geo, place a ball against the stretched neck of the heart and the
interior of the geo. Let it all go and 'Presto!'. The ball snuggles up into the geo and
holds the neck of the heart against the interior of the geo. It also works with frogs on
lily pads, dinasaurs on rocks, flowers in vases and, and, and. I twisted swans, poodles,
dinasaurs etc. around the heart/geo to make lots of fun stuff.

Things to put inside balloons

Refer to the Sculptures in Messages Section of the Guide for information on Ball In
balloon toys.

I make what I call the 'puzzle toy', which is simply a meatball put into fully inflated
balloon, which I then loop into a pretzel shape. The meatball can then float from one end
to the other by turning the balloon. A bubble inside the balloon doesn't always roll very
well, but a ball is heavy enough that it rolls through the whole pretzel shaped balloon
very easily.

Insert ball. Inflate balloon but don't tie it. Bounce it on the floor. Watch the fun.

For the bouncing balloon use a 1" ball in a 350 or a 340. The floor needs to be
hard and dropping works better than tossing. I think that that bit is from an old balloon
book called Blow By Blow.

I put two racquet balls inside a 350. The resulting balloon was only about 20 or 24
inches long. It was a lot of fun for tossing up in the air and it bounced kind of strange.
A friend picked it up and threw it across the room. The balloon went sailing straight
through the air! It flew like a missile, you've got to be careful how hard you throw it!

Put a quarter into a clear 9" balloon and then rotate the 9" balloon to get
the quarter racing around the inside of the balloon. You won't believe how fast you can
get the quarter going.

I like leaving tips inside of balloon figures when I'm in a restaurant.

I took an orange balloon and made two balls inside of it, then I shot them out and
stuffed them into a clear Geo blossom. I put the Geo onto a flower hat and the balls jump
around like popcorn every time you move you head. Even little boys want a flower hat like
this one.

You can make a 'pi–ata' out of a really huge balloon and fill it full of treats,
confetti, toys, whatever.

You can put Hershey Kisses or other candy inside balloons, but there are a few things to
consider:

having to break the balloon to get the candy out means little kids may put the balloon
(or the broken pieces) into their mouths. I doubt this is a problem for us big kids though
:-)

you probably only want to put food in balloons you pump up, not balloons filled with
warm moist air from your lungs (those pesky germs again...)

the talc on the inside of the balloon will get all over the candy.

When giving children candy, I follow the Halloween rule: If it's not wrapped would I
want my child to take that piece of candy from a stranger?

Sometimes at trendy "eclectic" type toy stores, you can find a variety of
giveaway objects just about the right size to put into a balloon that cost in the
neighborhood of 3-5 cents/each....stuff like plastic spiders, fuzzy worms, ants (maybe
uncles), frogs, miniature piggies, and so forth. My favorite was a plastic newborn nekked
baby with his hands up and legs outstretched. It's about 3/4 to 1 inch long and I bought
up all the ones they had for 5 cents each. They must be inserted head first; the little
plastic feet (and the hands too, so you have to be careful) are hard plastic and so little
they easily pop a balloon. I use them in anything.... such as in a dinosaur tummy, for
older kids, especially precocious 10-12 yr old boys who are rowdy. I tell them it's the
dino that ate Tucson....and if you don't behave you could end up just like this kid!
Another thing I do with the infants is insert them in a clear balloon and then make an
angel out of the balloon. I make the angel's hands as though I was going to pop twist, but
instead of popping the middle bubble, the baby lays inside it on its back....Gives the
illusion the angel is carrying the baby. I use it for mommies-to-be or on baby shower
gifts. If you draw the angel's eyes closed, it makes it look almost even sweeter. Little
girls like them cradled the same way in Teddy Bear hands.

There's a place called Oriental Trading Company in Omaha, Nebraska, that has all sort of
teensy toys, superballs, et al. for WAY CHEAP. Their prices are good but the shipping will
kill you unless you order a large quantity. Call and have them send you a catalog.

Here's a few Halloween ideas I had for putting things inside balloons. Now, not all of
these would be perfect for small kids so I hope you can tell which is witch. :-) I got
started with these ideas on a visit to U.S. Toy in nearby Kansas City. They had all their
Halloween stock displayed and I was sucked in. Here are a few ideas:

Spider rings (~ $1.00/gross). Looking back, I see this has been mentioned already. Here
again: A black plastic spider ring looks pretty cool inside (say) a yellow dog. Be sure to
push it in back first so the legs don't pop the balloon. Any ideas on how to make a spider
web inside there? Without an actual spider, of course. (I have a way to get a live spider
inside, but I'd be sure to get complaints from animal rights activists.)

1" Eyeballs (.28/each). If Cujo were a balloon animal... Also try placing two of
them in a balloon dog. Put one in each "ear".

With most multiple-bubble-head-type animals (lion/monkey/poodle/etc.) you can place one
of these eyeballs in the "top of the head bubble" to make a Cyclops
lion/monkey/poodle/etc. Ok, you _could_ just draw it on but what fun is that?

Introducing the 1002nd thing you can do with a thumb tip. Insert a fake thumb (or
finger). Be sure to draw teeth and add highlights with a red marker. Hold the balloon
creature carefully in your right hand and point to it with your left, being sure to curl
your left thumb in so that it appears missing. "You have to be careful of this one.
He bites."

I thought about trying to insert those plastic dracula teeth but I think they're a bit
big for 260's. Maybe with a 350.

A steak knife. It wasn't the sharpest knife I ever saw, but it was sharp enough to cut
meat. I figured that if I placed it in point first I would just puncture the balloon. If I
put it in handle first and I slipped, it would shoot out like an arrow. I chose the latter
approach and pointed it at the floor. It was a success, and it got quite a few reactions.
)
Put the knife in blade first. If you put the tip of the knife on the knot in the nozzle,
it provides enough extra protection to prevent the tip from popping the balloon. And if
the knife slips, the handle comes out first so you won't be cut. It works every time for
me.

I was thinking of things to put into balloons. How about a watch into a dog producing .
. . "a watch dog". I think you can buy plastic watch look-a-likes in a toy store
fairly inexpensively, you know, the ones you get at carnivals at the duck races. Or hey,
put a Rolex in one and send it to me. Takes and licking and keeps on ticking.

A friend and I came up with a couple stuffing ideas today: One was an action figure
twisted into the belly of a dinosaur. The other was an anteater with plastic ants rattling
about its belly (these were wedged into the mouth of the balloon before inflating). Flies
in the belly of a frog or lizard might work well also. Oh, almost forgot... push a
computer chip into a balloon. "Intel Inside." I've been putting Halloween
whistles inside balloons.."Look! Your dog/cat/whatever Just swallowed a
whistle!"

I have used a balloon doggy for the final of a magic routine using a spectators ring. At
the end of the trick the ring vanishes and I offer to make it up to the spectator by
making them a balloon. In the process of making the balloon I insert their ring. I twist
up a basic dog making certain the ring ends up in the stomach portion. I give the balloon
to the spectator and wait for the onslaught. I inform them their ring is in a very safe
place it is being guarded by "mans best friend". They immediately dive for the
balloon. Try to use wedding bands or small class rings stay away from anything with small
stones as they tend to pop the balloon or worse come loose from their setting. Another use
is to borrow a bill from a spectator. The higher the denomination the better. Vanish it
and make it appear inside a animal balloon. Another neat trick I have played with is
sticking a playing card inside a balloon and twisting the balloon into a sword. Then you
can do a neat version of a card stab. Take a deck of cards force the duplicate on the
spectator. Palm out the card, toss the deck into the air lunge at the deck with your
balloon sword. You have told the audience you impale the card on your sword. Much to your
surprise and theirs the card ends up inside the sword.

Light stick jewelry. These things are plastic with an ampoule of a second chemical
inside them. When you crack the ampoule, the chemicals mix and it begins glow a neon green
or yellow etc. The necklaces are long skinny tubes that would wrap around your neck or
wrist. I was able to feed one into a 260 then break it and twist it into a animal, heart,
hat etc. It made sort of a electric neon balloon. They looked really neat in the dark
nightclub. It may be something to consider for Halloween. I kept the bubbles with the
light sticks large enough to handle the glow sticks. The sticks were maybe 10-12 inches in
length. Hot dog dogs, Giraffes, Hearts all were big enough to hold a glow stick. The hats
seemed to be the most popular item I made. Qualatex discusses this great trick in their
book "Design", and they also show it in some flyers I got for their Halloween
themed printed latex rounds. I'll bet they look awesome in a 260! We use them often in our
decorating business to add excitement to dining tables. Place the necklace under a dinner
plate and the bracelet around the napkin or under the coffee cup to add a glow.

Look at the tiny, battery powered flashing LED ear-rings and pins that they make now -
These would look great in balloons.

How about stuffing one of those music-box-in-a greeting card circuits inside a balloon?
You can buy them separately (i.e., without the card attached) at craft stores, and each
one plays several different songs.

I think it is the 260Q Decorator Book where it is suggested that you can braid Christmas
tree lights in with 2, 3 and/or 4 balloon braids.

Fortune balloons - like fortune cookies- put pieces of paper with jokes on in my
balloons (they'd include my contact details as well of course).

For Christmas Balloons, how about putting sleigh bells into balloons before twisting?
They still jingle when they are put inside balloons. Put them in the antlers of an antler
hat, inside reindeer, or snowmen or any creation.

Per request of a young boy, I put a little sword (toothpick size, from an exotic drink)
into a light, translucent 260 last September. I then made a ballooni brother, leaving the
sword in his torso, and informed the family that it was a sword swallower that went too
far.

Fourth of July twists? Anyone ever tried firecrackers or smoke bombs inside of balloons?
I think balloons pop enough on their own w/o help. Besides, would you light the fuse
BEFORE or AFTER you put it in the balloon? Pop art now has a whole new meaning.

I stuffed two wooden strike-anywhere matches into a clear 260, and lit them off of each
other. I wouldn't call the experiment a success, as the flame instantly popped the
balloon. A larger balloon or a smaller flame / spark would be more successful.

Don't put live bugs (such as fireflies) in balloons because, aside from the whole idea
of trapping a living creature inside a teensy space... when the balloon pops, the bug will
get trapped in the now-deflated balloon, as well as get its eardrums messed-up.

Tried putting a Hamster in a 350 once. She much prefers her cage - a lot more room.

John Travolta - he portrayed "the boy in the plastic bubble" in the movie.
They should have left John Travolta in a plastic bubble. While cruel, it would have spared
millions a couple more seasons of "Baa-baa-baaaa, baa-baa-bareeno!"

For an adult crowd...especially in a bar, How about "a Trojan horse" ?

"How To Stuff A Full Drinking Glass Into A Balloon, Without Spilling A Drop"
or "The Glass Wrap" Trick.

Needed:

1 drinking glass, smooth (especially the rim), stiff (not soft plastic, paper, etc.
Diameter must be less than that of a inflated 350Q balloon. For a first try, 2" wide
works well (I used one of those little glasses that come with cheese spread inside.
Smooth, thick, free.) Caution: Wine glasses look cool, but don't use anything too thin,
that could shatter and cause injury.

Enough fluid to fill the glass, to 1/2" of the rim. Try water for practice (no
stains), but have a carbonated soft drink available for later.

1 - 350Q balloon (clean), clear or yellow preferred.

scissors (balloon removal later)

towels (just in case)

1 - drinking straw. (trust me)

Method:
Fill the glass, to within 1/2" of the top. For a wider glass, use slightly less
liquid. Inflate the 350Q, leaving a 4" uninflated tail. Let the air out, and
re-inflate (this will make the balloon slightly wider and easier to get over the glass).
Squeeze the body of the balloon to soften it. You should now have a 2" tail left.
With the glass resting on a solid surface, put the end of the balloon with the tail into
the rim of the glass, with the "tail" hanging into the drink. The balloon will
curve into the glass, to the fluid level. If there is too much liquid in the glass, the
balloon will force some out, over the rim.

Slowly press the balloon down onto the glass, working the balloon around the sides of
the glass. When you get to the bottom, keep pushing, so the balloon wraps under the glass.
Notice how the inner wrap has skinned around the glass, trapping the liquid inside. Notice
also how the uninflated tail section is poking down into the glass. At this point, when
the balloon has covered the bottom of the glass, you can very carefully turn/ rotate the
glass inside the balloon, closing the bottom, kind of like a tulip twist. If you are
brave, you can now set the balloon down (on end), and the weight of the glass will keep
the twist from unwinding. Ta - Dah !!!

You now have several options:

Keep going and put the glass further into the balloon, break the "umbilical",
re-knot the balloon and have a covered glass loose inside closed balloon.

Put glass inside balloon, work skin off of glass, and have *open* glass inside balloon.
Visually very impressive.

Win bets by taking glass back out of balloon without breaking balloon Carefully unwind
the twist, and slowly ease the balloon up, off the glass. Control of the balloon is
critical for this move. It may have a tendency to spring upward, and then there can be a
suction effect on the surface of the liquid. Move slowly.

Do the "Glass Cover" trick. With the balloon down around the bottom of the
glass, slowly let the air out of the rest of the balloon. Cut away what was the outer,
inflated balloon, leaving just what was the inner wrap/ skin section.

Here's the cool
part: If you have used carbonated soda, holding the balloon, where it covers the sides of
the glass, gently shake the glass. The resulting pressurization (fizz) should make the
balloon tail pop up, out of the top! Use the scissors to cut the very tip off, insert the
straw and hand the spill proof drink to a amazed audience member, or drink it yourself, to
thunderous applause.

My kids loved this one. Caution: It's tempting to use the "glass cover" like
a baby bottle, and suck on the balloon, but again, we don't want kids to think it's okay
to put balloons in your mouth. Use the straw.

Source Book, published by Paper and Party Retailer Magazine, (203)845-8020. A good all
around source for many items.

I get my glow sticks at Martin Industries in Ontario, CA. You can call directory
assistance for the 909 area code for their number. The owner is Gary Martin. They supply
Disneyland and Knott's, and their stuff is always fresh, which is important.

Refer to the One-liners section of the Guide for One-liners for Balls in Balloons.

Pop twist

It is often desirable to get more limbs on an animal than there are ends of the
balloon. The basic dog works out OK, but legs need to be grouped in twos. The pop twist
will allow two legs or arms to be separated. When you are at a point where you want to
make a Pop Twist, twist two medium bubbles, three small bubbles, then another medium
bubble. Do a lock twist with the medium bubbles so nothing untwists. Ear twist the first
one.

Pop twists - good for pop-apart arms and legs on beasts, but the twists can easily come undone. Usually I try to put animals and other creations with this kind of pre-popped balloon twist on hats or leashes so they're more likely to "live" longer.

A "pinch & pop series" is a 5 bubble series. Bubbles 1 & 5 are the
same size and bubbles 2 & 4 are the same size. The series is twist locked to form and
loop (almost diamond shaped). To pinch bubbles 2 & 4 you take one bubble and bring
it's own ends together by pulling on it's middle and pinching the ends together. Twist it
at least 5 times if you're going to pop bubble number 3. Do this to both bubbles. This is
exactly how you would make the outer part of a Teddy Bear head. I believe some books call
this a bean or ear twist. Be sure to support the pinched bubbles while popping bubble no.
3 so they do not untwist. Hint - if you twist the pinch in 2 it makes good claws for your
T-Rex or Eagle.

To attach one Geo, heart, or round balloon to another, save the knots from broken
balloons, and drop them into the balloon before inflating, then after inflating, grab the
knot in a little piece of the balloon where you want to tie on, and twist it to make a
little nub to tie on to. (Otherwise, if you drop a BB or a small hex-nut into the balloon
before you inflate it, the BB will fall to the lowest point. Grab the BB through the wall
of the balloon and twist to form a nub that you could attach a balloon to.) The Balloon
Dude in California makes an awesome elephant with a geo, using this technique, the nose
comes out of the hole and the ears are attached as described.

We named the twist a raisin twist and it goes like this: tie a square knot in a scrap
and break off the knot, drop this into an un-inflated balloon and then inflate and tie,
grasp the "raisin" between the index and thumb, pull out slightly and twist,
lock it by attaching another balloon to it. Using this twist, I was able to take home the
First Place trophy in the advanced multi-balloon comp. (I made a momma sow suckling a
piglet ). Brit Anders

I read in a book (about camping) how to tie a rope to a tarp without putting a hole in
it. Find a suitable rock, hold it through the tarp, and tie the rope around the lump. I
just applied the principal to a balloon surface.

I purchased the book by George Sands and the twist listed in there are all a
modification of the apple twist. In the Sands book, he is discussing how to use a match
head or piece of paper to create a knot-like effect on the nipple end of the balloon in
order to create an apple twist. He does not discuss putting something in the balloon.

If you've tried the raisin twist with no luck (the balloon breaks or develops a leak),
try 11 inch rounds inflated to about 8 or 9 inches maximum to practice. I've had no
problem this way.

Use a raisin twist to connect some bug food to a geo for the frog sitting on the
flower. Fun.

Side Bubble

One day, I thought about the fact that out of all the different shapes I did and have
seen others do, I never saw anyone twist a balloon from the side. So, I made a claw out of
my hand and pinched a bubble out of the side. I've only been able to get a small bubble
that way and I couldn't think of how to lock it. Yea, I invented the "twist a bubble
in the side of a balloon" trick too, but I wouldn't be surprised to find out that it
also was first done a long time ago. None of the twisters I met at the 1995 IBAC had done
a side bubble, so I demonstrated the concept at the 260Q Jam Session, and then provided an
application with my jet plane sculpture. Within a few hours of his seeing it, Sean Rooney
(one of the most amazing balloon artists I have ever had the chance to meet) was already
twisting 2 side bubbles in a 260, _in_the_same_cross_sectional_plane_!!!! I wouldn't have
thought of that. (Wow, what dexterous fingers he has... he eventually got 3 in the same
c-s plane! Sean is a fan of "Pure Sculpture" (balloon sculpture without any
non-latex support structure) and thought the technique would open up a lot of attachment
possibilities.

Attaching balloons with adhesive

Rubber cement

I'm not sure that any one brand is better or worse for balloons. The kind that I use is
Elmers. Before I brush any of the cement on the balloons I take off the cap and let it sit
for about 10-15 minutes. Letting rubber cement sit for 15 minutes helps to prevent the
balloon popping; the "rubber" in rubber cement is in a solvent. The drying
process allows the solvent to evaporate, leaving the rubber. This solvent can dissolve
balloons. Vaseline will dissolve a condom Gasoline will dissolve a Styrofoam cup. In
short, petroleum based substances (gasoline, paint thinner, kerosene, etc.) will often
dissolve polymers (rubber, balloons, Styrofoam, plastics).

When applying the cement to the balloon, make sure you keep it away from your fingers.
It's difficult to handle the balloon when it keeps sticking to your fingers. Use the brush
that comes with the bottle to apply the adhesive, but be careful not to POKE the balloon.
Also, only use a minimal amount to get the job done. Too much makes the sculpture look
messy, other things (dust, particles etc.) can get stuck to it, and people can see where
the glue has been applied.

Wait a few seconds until the glue loses it's clear look and becomes whitish. Now just
connect the two balloons together. Make sure the balloons to be connected touch in the
right place, because it's hard to take the balloons apart with out breaking them.

Oasis floral glue is the best balloon-glue made! Oasis floral glue works unbeli evably
well on balloons. A small amount holds well, a large amount will not pop the balloon (as
rubber cement will) and it stretches enough to take a lot of ab use. This is one of my
favorite tools when building large sculptures for event decor. It doesn't need to be
plugged in, you can't burn yourself on it and it d rys quickly.

Now, what can we do with the use of rubber cement?? Instructions for making a rabbit, a
three layered cake and a gumball machine can be found in Steve Hattan's Mon, 25 Apr 94
email entitled "Sculptures".

Cold Glue Guns

For balloon sculptures, cold-glue guns are used. These are similar to hot-glue guns,
but they operate at a much lower temperature and use an adhesive that does not dissolve
latex as rubber cement does.